Sad eyes Zemyx for Demyx
by XxbetterthanrikuxX
Summary: Zexion is an escaped neko from a nearby facility. Demyx is a normal highschooler with his friends Axel, the drug addict, and Roxas, the innocent blonde. Written for Demyx Vann Snifer on Facebook. Lemon in later chapters, rated T for now.
1. first sighting

Sad Eyes

Zexion lay on his stomach in the long grass being shaded by an ancient and withering nightshade tree on a cliff hanging out over the sandy beach, watching the sun set. It was his first time seeing such a beautiful sight, easily awed by the blending shades of fiery reds, mild oranges, and yellows that ranged from both light and dark fading into each other, all being pushed down by a blanket of a light magenta color, which he described as a 'valium colored sky'.

He heard people coming in his direction on the beach down below, and scoot back, retreating farther into the darkest areas of the shade so as not to be seen if one of the people coming were to take a chance look in his direction. He narrowed his already cat-like eyes as a group of three guys came into view. He felt his stomach churn as a he began to grow afraid; a feeling he had grown used to over the years and knew very well.

He held back a hiss of discomfort as he saw who seemed to be the leader of the group, a rather tall male about the age of eighteen with bright red hair spiked to the point where it looked like a hedgehog was on his head, lighted a cigarette he pulled out of his pocket, and scent of smoke reached him. Zexion had a very strong sense of smell, and had always hated it when people around him would smoke; also considering the fact he had a small case of asthma.

"C'mon, Axel," The shortest and most likely youngest of the group whined to 'Axel', the tall leader, "Don't smoke here of all places! The air is so clear… it shouldn't be ruined by the smell of your cigarettes."

"And your pretty face shouldn't be ruined by that frown." Axel retorted, ruffling his blonde and also spiked hair.

"Roxas is right, Axel." The third male in the group, also a blonde with a hairstyle that seemed to be a cross between a mullet and a haphazard Mohawk, In a way, he sort of reminded Zexion of David Bowie, said as he pointed to a sign posted to a stake in the sand that read 'No Smoking Zone' in bolded red letters," You really shouldn't be smoking here."

Axel rolled his eyes, taking out his cigarette and dropping it into the sand, beginning to grind it with his foot to stop it's burning process and keep it from producing anymore smoke, his hands raised in the air as he did so. "Alright Demyx, I guess you two got me this time", he replied in an annoyed tone.

Zexion felt relieved when he saw the redhead, whom he'd figured was 'Axel', stop smoking the cigarette, the though distinct smell of smoke was still lingering in the air. To his disadvantage, there was a cool breeze coming towards him, blowing the smoke right in his direction. He felt his nose twitch, and the inside began to itch. Feeling the beginning signs of a sneeze, he quickly covered his nose. If he sneezed, there would be a chance the three guys down below heard him, and he couldn't risk that. Not after he had already gotten so far.

He felt the cool, metaphorical waves of relief wash over him once again as he realized the trio was about to leave. He came forward a bit more out of the shade, feeling it was okay now since they were leaving and highly unlikely to look anywhere in his direction. He felt calm again, the trio now turning their backs to him. Though while the third blonde, Demyx was turning, he happened to look up, and for a split second, Demyx's bright sea green eyes made direct contact with Zexion's deep ocean blue ones. He hissed in fear, his cat-like ears pressing down against his head as he quickly retreated into the dark shadow.

Demyx stared at where he thought he'd just seen Zexion for a moment, his sea green eyes unable to spot Zexion again. He shrugged and turned back to follow Axel and Roxas back home, assuming it had just been a trick of the light.


	2. What fate decides

Author's note: I'm surprised people are actually reading this! It means a lot to me that you guys are reading it. I'm still not entirely sure how many chapters I'm going to make this, but it'll most definitely be less than 20. (I have a plot setup… but I don't think I could make it last _that_ long!) The first chapter came out shorter than I would have liked… but I figure it's more of an introduction to the plot and who's going to be in the fic, etc. So… thanks for reading! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated, but not absolutely needed.

Sad Eyes

Demyx groaned as he was awoken by the obnoxious beeping of his alarm clock. He blinked at the harsh sunlight shining directly onto his face through the curtains before turning over and sitting up. He smiled as he remembered it was Sunday, and there still wouldn't be any school until the next day.

Judging by the silence in the house, his sister Paine wasn't awake yet. He got up out of bed, stretching and yawning before heading downstairs.

_Paine's probably going to expect me to get the newspaper off the porch this time._ He thought to himself sleepily, walking through the living room to the front door. He undid the lock, and froze when he opened the door.

_…! O-oh my… what is that..?_

He gaped down at the small form asleep on his porch, frozen on the spot. It appeared to be a boy about a year younger than him, but it couldn't be human. Coming out of the slate-blue hair, he saw two periwinkle colored cat ears. Curled up with his legs, was a fairly long tail of the same color, but how?

_..I-I should go get Paine… Yeah! She'll know what to do!_ He thought, about to finally turn around. However, he stopped again when the boy on the porch stirred. _Uh-oh…_

The boy uncurled out of his sleeping position, about to sit up when he froze. The ears pressed down flat against his hair in fear, seeming to know there was someone behind him. "…!"

".. Uh … Hey there…" Demyx said, kneeling down on the porch, reaching out a hand to gently grab his shoulder. The boy hissed once the hand made contact, and he began to shake out of fear. "Hey… It's alright. I won't hurt you." Demyx promised, "...Why don't you come inside? You're freezing cold."

"…I-I'm fine…" The voice sounded unsure, and faltered on the last syllable.

Demyx was surprised when the boy spoke. Somehow, the voice sounded oddly familiar. He shook his head. There was no way. "…You're not okay." Demyx responded, "… If you stay outside for too long, you'll catch a cold." 

Demyx didn't wait for another response, moving the hand from the boy's shoulder to down into his hand. He stood up from kneeling, forcing the boy to stand up with him. The boy was noticeably shorter, and his skin was pale, making it look like porcelain.

The boy seemed to become more afraid as he began to lead him inside, his limbs stiff, and ears still pressed down. _How am I going to explain this to Paine?_ He thought to himself as he turned and then closed and locked the front door again. Was it just him, or did the boy shiver at the sound of the lock clicking shut?

He sighed as he motioned to the living room couch.

".. Uh … Take a seat." Demyx said, trying to think of an explanation, "…I'm going to be right back."

He didn't wait for a response as he walked down the hall towards his sister's bedroom. He knocked lightly on the door, and heard a quiet and sleepy 'come in'. He hesitated before doing so, and closed the door behind him.

Paine was awake, sitting on the edge of her bed, smiling at him. "Need something, Dem?" She asked. She had been about to go take her morning shower before he had come in, new clothes for the day beside her on the bed, and a towel slung over her shoulder. 

"..I-I uh…" He was unsure of how to start, scratching the back of his head out of impulse, "Can you… uh… Come look at something in the living room for me?" He asked.

"The living room? Why, what's in there?" She asked, confused. 

"Uh… just come with me. You'll see what I mean." He replied quickly, opening the door again and motioning to it.

Paine shrugged it off and got up, the towel still slung over her shoulder. The two began to head towards the living room.

Zexion shook in fear as he sat with his knees pulled to his chest in the corner of the gray couch, pressing himself between the arm and the back. Of all the house porches on the street, why had he fallen asleep on the blonde's? He knew right away it was the same one he had seen on the beach yesterday. He stared down at his pale feet, beginning to wonder where the blonde had gone, and what he was going to do to him.

His sniffed the air as he heard two sets of footsteps coming towards him from the hall. He could smell the blonde's ocean sea-salt scent, and someone else's … was that leather and iron? He looked up and saw the blonde return with another blonde girl. She seemed to be older, and was taller than him. They seemed to have the same hair, cut in similar style, and the same nose. He didn't look to see if their eyes were the same, too scared to look her in the eyes. He figured they were siblings, the girl being the older one.

"..Oh my… ", Paine said, instantly seeing Zexion squished up in the corner of the couch. His ears will still pressed down flat against his head, signaling he was very frightened.

Completely unsure of what to do, and bit worried that it may not be safe to have this odd boy inside with them, Paine leaned down towards Demyx and whispered, "Dem… What are we supposed to do…?"

"I-I don't know… "

"Should we call the police..?" 

Demyx instantly rejected that idea. That would be almost like catching big foot and then calling the police, but on a smaller scale. Either they wouldn't believe them, or they'd overreact, and take the boy to some horrible testing center. Though he didn't know the boy, he didn't have the heart to risk such a thing happening. He shook his head.

Paine sighed and slowly started to walk up to the boy on the couch, not wanting to alarm him as she got down on one knee beside him. "Hey, kid… you have a name?" She asked him, her voice soft.

He felt a bit safer having a small feeling they wouldn't hurt him or turn him in, though he couldn't be too sure. He nodded, before mumbling a response, "M-my name… is Zexion…"

She smiled softly at him and nodded, "Alright Zexion… My name is Paine, and that's my brother Demyx."

Demyx, beginning to feel a little left out, came forward and joined them, sitting on the couch, though on the other side, wanting to give Zexion his space.

"Where did you come from Zexion..?" Demyx asked, curious.

Zexion didn't give an answer, only staring down at his feet. If he told them he had escaped from the testing facility, they could return him; then all his efforts would be wasted.

Paine and Demyx felt awkward in the silence, and decided to try a different question.

"Do you have a home?" Paine asked.

Zexion shook his head. He never had a home, and probably never would.

Paine went silent after that, feeling awkward now, until Demyx finally spoke up.

"Well… Zexion…" He started, unsure of how to begin with what he was going to say, "…How would you… like to stay with us for now..?"

Both Paine and Zexion were confused and a bit unsure when he made that offer.

Paine was unsure because they didn't know very much yet about Zexion. Also, Demyx went to school, and she had a job to go to during the day, Saturday mornings and Sundays were her only days off, besides holidays. Would it be a good idea to leave him home alone all day? Or would they try to enroll him in school with Demyx? Zexion seemed smart enough to be in all the same classes… if not, he could very well be ahead of him. But the school would ask for more information on Zexion; they'd want to know what school he'd gone to before, as well as other personal information. How would they supply that?

Zexion was confused and unsure about the offer, because he had just met Demyx and Paine. Despite how he had seen him act on the beach the previous afternoon, when he had seen Demyx and his friends on the beach and found that Demyx seemed to act rather nicely, he still didn't know if it would be a good idea to stay. He didn't want to get in the way of anything, and he still wasn't entirely sure if he could trust them. Trust was something Zexion had very little of when it came to entirely human people. He'd been betrayed by them so many times.

It had become deathly silent in the room once again, and not wanting to seem rude at all, and deciding to risk it, Zexion looked up for the first time, his one visible blue eye clouded with fear and worry, he slowly nodded, deciding to see if it could work out.

"I-If it's not t-too much trouble… I'll stay…" He said, stumbling over his first words due to the overwhelming flow of emotions he suddenly felt. 


	3. as if it were normal

Sad Eyes

Now that they had decided Zexion was going to stay and live with them, things had calmed down, and Paine left the room to go cook breakfast; She'd take her shower later, it being one of the less important things on her mind. If she and Demyx were hungry, chances were Zexion was too, and while she was cooking, she could try to think of what they were going to do to make this work. Zexion still sat silently in the corner of the couch, staring down at his feet. Demyx sat down next to him, though giving him a considerable amount of personal space; respecting his 'bubble'.

After a moment, he thought he smelled something odd. Then Demyx realized it was Zexion. _I know he's not like me and Paine… but he still shouldn't smell that bad! I wonder when the last time he bathed was…_He thought to himself.

Zexion felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He felt eyes watching him, and looked up to see it was Demyx staring at him. "…?"

"I don't mean to be rude…" Demyx started, unsure of how to say this, then deciding to just be straight forward, "But you stink."

Zexion didn't seem to be offended, aware of his own scent. He'd smelled that way for almost as long as he could remember. He'd started to assume it was natural, like Demyx's sea-salt scent, or Paine's steel and leather scent. He was wrong.

"…When was the last time you took a shower?" Demyx asked.

"…A… Shower..?" Zexion was confused.

"You know" Demyx responded, "Like a bath."

"… What's a bath?" Zexion asked, still confused.

Demyx had to stop himself from gaping at Zexion, "You mean you've never had a bath before?"

Zexion shook his head, still confused, and a bit frustrated that he hadn't told him what it was yet, "What's that?"

Demyx stood up gave him his usual goofy grin as he spoke, "A surefire sign that you need one."

Zexion hesitantly took Demyx's hand and stood up, then followed him down the hall towards the bathroom. It seemed pretty nice, the walls painted a lighter shade of periwinkle, with the large, white, tub near the window. There was a light blue candle near the sink, giving the bathroom a fresher smell than it normally would. It smelled almost like blueberries.

Demyx stopped in the middle of the bathroom with Zexion, letting go of his hand. He scratched the back of his head out of habit before gesturing towards the large white tub. "That's where you can take baths and showers." He explained, "You know… clean yourself up."

"Oh…" 

* * *

><p>Paine had forgotten completely about taking her morning shower, the towel still draped over her shoulder as she looked through the fridge, trying to decide what to make for breakfast. After a moment of staring at the fridge's contents, she decided she would make eggs, bacon, and pancakes.<p>

She picked up a container of leftover pancake batter from the day before, and looked it over, checking to see if it was still any good, or if she would have to make new batter. It seemed to be okay, so she turned and set it down on the counter, before getting out the eggs and bacon.

Next, she searched the cupboards for a clean frying pan, greased it so the food wouldn't stick then turned on the stove and set the pan there. Once the pan became warm enough, she began to make the pancakes. The first few came out larger and slightly burnt on one side. But as time went on, they came out better. She put all the finished pancakes on their own plate for the time being before going on to make the bacon and eggs.

She wasn't sure how Zexion liked his eggs, and decided to make them scrambled just to be safe. She did the same for Demyx knowing he liked his the same way, and smiled as she realized the kitchen was beginning to fill with the scents of the cooking food. She liked it when that happened, because it made her feel as though she were doing something right. She usually ended up burning everything.

She heard the water turn on in the bathroom as she continued to cook, almost done, figuring Demyx must be helping Zexion to get cleaned up. She smiled to herself as she went on to cook the last of the eggs.

* * *

><p>Zexion, wrapped in a soft light blue towel, watched as the last of the brown and dirty water made its way down the drain, leaving a few small pebbles in the tub. Demyx was surprised the water hadn't turned to mud after a while. Now that Zexion was completely cleaned, his skin seemed much paler than it had before, it almost having a soft glow to it. However, now that his skin was much paler and cleaner, the small bruises and cuts that were scattered over it became more defined. Demyx winced at the sight, unable to imagine what had been happening for Zexion to be in such a state.<p>

Demyx had also helped him to wash his hair, the small pebbles left in the tub having come from there. Before, it was incredibly dirty, full of dandruff, and was also somewhat greasy. He had been surprised he didn't find any fleas or lice, though he was still glad he didn't. Now that it had been washed, it showed its true color, a darker shade of blue slate, having an almost purple hue to it. It hard been a lot of work to wash and get all the dirt out of his hair, but he could already tell that it would be harder to brush later. Should he wait until it was dry? Or should he try to brush it out now?

_No… not right now. First, I need to find some clothes that might fit him… he can't walk around in a towel all day, and his other clothes need to be washed… _Demyx thought to himself.

"Wait right here…" He said before walking to his bedroom, going straight to the dresser to dig through his clothes and find something that would fit Zexion. After making a mess of the once neat and folded clothes in an effort to find something, pairs of jeans, underwear, and shirts tossed to various places of the room, he settled on a pair of skinny jeans that had been a few sizes too small for him, and a plain black shirt from a few years ago. They both seemed to be the right size, so he grabbed a pair of boxers for him, and went back to the bathroom with the clothes.

"Here, change into these. I'll meet you in the kitchen." He said before going to the kitchen, not wanting to be in the bathroom while he changed, wanting to avoid that awkwardness, and deciding he could out he clothes on himself.

He went down into the kitchen, and sat down at the table as Paine set down a plate of food in front of him; scrambled eggs, two pieces of bacon, and three medium sized pancakes. Within moments, Zexion came down and joined them, a plate of food waiting for him as he took his seat at the end of the table next to Demyx. He looked down at the food on the plate, smelling it curiously. It looked and smelled good, so he began to eat, and found it also tasted good. He hadn't eaten much for the past few days since his escape, and ate the food rather quickly, his hunger showing. Paine noticed this, and was about to offer him more.

Everyone seemed to freeze as there was knock on the door.

* * *

><p><strong>What's this, another cliff hanger? Oh no! Sorry this chapter took so long to make and upload, our wifi got shut down. Or more… my neighbor's did if you get what I'm hinting at. Also, I'm almost sure Paine's OOC… I don't know the character very well, I just thought she'd be the best to use here. Though I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time you've read a fic with some OOC characters. Checking my email, I found a few more people add this to their favorites and put it on watch. Many thanks and free cookies to you! I am nothing without my readers. I don't know when I'll have wifi at home again… so from now on, until then, uploads will be infrequent, being made whenever I happen to take my laptop to my local McDonalds. I'll try to type some in advance. Thanks for being patient!<strong>

**Also, I'm going to attempt to write something for Akuzeku day (Another favorite pairing of mine), but I doubt I'll be able to upload it in time. I'm supposed to go 'home' at some point in June, so I'll probably hog Minty's wifi to upload stuff while I'm there. **

**As always, reviews are appreciated. I don't really even mind flames either. Just remember that I read everything left. If I've made any errors or there's something you think I can improve on, please don't hesitate to tell me. There's always room for improvement. 3**


	4. troublemaker

Sad Eyes

* * *

><p>Everyone had stopped what they were doing at the sound of the knock at the door. After the knock continued again when nobody went to answer it, they all seemed to come out of their shocked and surprised state. Demyx glanced at the clock; it was already eleven-thirty. Where had the morning gone? Paine also noticed the time, and wondered why there was a visitor so early. She got up and went to the door, looking through the peep-hole to see Axel; Demyx's troublemaking friend.<p>

Though they knew Axel to show up randomly and unannounced, sometimes late at night, sometimes in the afternoon, it wasn't often he showed this early. They knew Axel to sleep until noon on weekends. Why was he here now? Paine saw the regular impatience in his emerald eyes and his hand twitch at his side, itching to knock again. Before he could, she finally opened the door for him.

"You're rather… early today." She said as he walked in and shrugged in response.

Axel walked in and pushed past her, walking into the kitchen where he already knew he'd find Demyx.

Paine closed the door and turned, about to walk back into the kitchen when she froze once again, startled as she heard Axel yell, "Dem! What the _fuck _is that?"

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! I know it's been ages since I last updated, but I've been facing a massive case of writer's block lately… Please, bear with me, though. I promise to make it up to you guys somehow! -Luna<strong>


	5. The chase begins

Sad Eyes

Zexion shifted uncomfortably in his chair under the redhead's burning stare, his ears pushed back flat against his head in fear and discomfort. He felt his tail stop its usual flicking motions, and wrap itself comfortingly around his waist, though it wasn't long enough to wrap all the way around.

Demyx seemed to feel the tension between the two of them, and walked between where Axel stood, and where Zexion sat while scratching the back of his head as he tried to figure out what to do.

"Axel, this is our new friend, Zexion" He stated, trying to remain calm, which was more difficult for him than the common individual, "He's goi-"

Demyx was cut short as Axel angrily yelled, "Demyx, how could you let something like that into your house?! It could have fleas or rabies or something!"

"Axel! _He_isn't dangerous!" Demyx yelled back, putting emphasis on the 'he' to show he viewed Zexion as a person, and not an 'it'.

As the two continued to argue, Zexion grew more frightened. He sprang up from his chair when Axel got physical. He hissed at him threateningly, swiping his hand away before it could touch Demyx. But when Zexion had done it, his claw-like nails had hit Axel's hand dead on, and he broke through the skin in the process of protecting Demyx. Axel was stunned for a moment as the first few red droplets began to form.

* * *

><p>Rufus slammed his car door after he stepped out of the silver vehicle. He squinted down at the slightly crumpled paper in his right hand. Why did his secretary always have to type with such a small font?! He assumed she just liked to get on his nerves, but he`d have her fired one day; Then he'd be the one laughing!<p>

He mentally sighed as he leaned back against his car and stuffed the paper back into his coat pocket. It had been the first escaped testing subject in the past fifty years; the second one in the facility's sixty-seven years of operation. It was now his job to go out and find the escaped subject before anything major happened or it was known to the public that anything had escaped from the facility. _That_ would be a major blunder for them, were anyone that wasn't involved in the facility to find out. The facility itself was a secret carefully kept from the general public; making his job all the more important.

He had stopped his car out on the grassy ledge of the hillside that jutted out over the sandy beach, incredibly close to where Zexion had been less than twenty-four hours ago. He walked all the way over to the edge, and put a hand to his forehead, holding a few stray blonde hairs out of his eyes. His blue eyes stared out over the ledge and off towards the ocean before him, entirely overlooking the beach as he scanned the foreign waters then looked up to the sky. It was a fairly nice day in terms of weather, and the morning sky was clear and beautiful; an almost perfect shade of blue. He peered out a bit farther, and found what he was looking for. He saw a cluster of menacing gray clouds and a few more way off behind it that were just barely visible.

_At the rate the wind is blowing, they'll be here by tomorrow… the rain will only slow me down. I should get this done today before it becomes an issue._ He thought to himself.

Without a single moment to waste, he turned and climbed hastily back into his car, and back off the ledge and back onto the newly paved road lined with picket fences that led back into town. It was there that he would start his search.

Rufus continued to drive around as he held Zexion`s manila file open against the steering wheel, supported up by his knees while he drove, his eyes flicking down from the road to read the script on the page every now and then. At the top of the paper was a small photograph of the young boy fastened in place with a paperclip. In the image the boy looked incredibly scared, and his porcelain-like skin was marred with scraped and scratches. He must have put up quite a fight before the picture was taken.

He took a left turn into the first neighborhood he saw, deciding he would search them first with a simple drive-by to see if he could spot the boy outside. If he couldn't find him today, then he would assume he was able to take shelter somewhere, especially if it was going to rain the next day.

"…!" Suddenly, he slammed on his breaks as a young boy covering his head ran out in front of his car, just barely escaping the possibility of being hit. Then just as soon as the first boy had run off out in front of him, another older looking male with intensely red and spiky hair ran out chasing after him, yelling some kind of profanity. As if things couldn't get any wilder in the normally quiet and calm neighborhood, a third male with messy blonde hair chased after the first two, calling out for them to stop and come back.

Rufus raised a questioning eyebrow as he watched the three run off down the street, one after another. Just as he was about to ignore them and carry on with his investigation of the neighborhood, one of the redhead's yells caught his attention.

"Come back here and fight like a man you mangy freak!"

It was then that Rufus stepped on the gas pedal and began to follow to follow them.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews and new followers! As for those of you who have been with me from the beginning, I apologize for such a long wait for this update. I was expecting to be much further along with the story by now, but shit happens, right? We lost our internet over here for a while, and then I dropped my laptop and broke the screen. Now that I`ve got it fixed, I should be able to start updating more frequently again! Also, happy late thanksgiving you guys! Hope you all enjoyed your holiday! <strong>


	6. Chased off

Zexion's heart was pounding in his chest as he ran from his red-headed pursuer, each individual beat in synch with his bare feet as they hit the hard asphalt of the street. He knew he would be sore later if he evaded the red-head, and would be even worse for wear If Axel caught him. It seemed all he knew was the fear and adrenaline pulsing through his veins mixed with his thoughts of evading Axel. Getting away was his top priority- next to staying alive, of course.

It seemed that the odds were against him as he tripped on a huge crack in the street. He flailed, and cried out as everything seemed to happen in slow motion. His eyes widened while the air he fell through rushed passed him. His eyes closed tightly right before he made contact with the hard surface of the street. Pain exploded in his head, having fallen face first. Whoever said cats always land on their feet was a huge liar, or apparently that gene obviously hadn't been passed on to him.

He quickly scrambled back to his feet as his mind urged him to run. However, his feet were frozen to the spot as he felt something warm and wet begin to slide from his nose, over his lips, and eventually drip from his chin. His tongue darted out, and his eyes widened at the taste of iron; He was bleeding.

The mere thought of the blood running down his face brought him back to reality; back to the reality that he was still being chased. His ears twitched before pressing down flat against his head again. He somehow willed himself to go back to running, highly unwilling to face the red-head and his anger.

Sadly, his little slip up gave Axel time to catch up, and the red-head was at least fifteen feet behind him by now, with Demyx still in tow, persistent as ever with his desperate shouts for them to stop.

* * *

><p>Axel's confidence in catching up with the little freak suddenly took a huge blow as his ability to breathe correctly was quickly declining. He was beginning to regret not listening to Demyx and Roxas during all those lectures they gave him about what his habit of smoking could do to him. But what could he say? Addiction was a powerful thing, it was controlling him. He saw Zexion trip and fall, and knew it was now or never. This would be his only chance to catch up before his lungs got the best of him.<p>

He coughed a bit as he started to run at top speed, the distance between him and the smaller teen shrinking rapidly. He clutched his chest and his eyes widened as he was thrown into a huge coughing fit just as he was about to grab the back of Zexion's borrowed jacket and drag him down. He fell to his knees and the little mutant got away. He would have growled of cursed in anger if he weren't so busy coughing and trying to catch his breath.

Over the sound of his coughing, he could hear Demyx stop his shouting before dropping down to the street next to him. He felt the blonde begin to pat him roughly on the back in an attempt to bring him out of his coughing fit. After a few minutes, it worked.

"God dammit, Demyx! The little ass-wipe got away!" Axel yelled angrily now that he was able to speak, glaring off into the direction Zexion had disappeared, still clutching at his chest.

Demyx cringed at Axel's foul language, especially since he was referring to Zexion with it.

"Just let it go, Axel..!" Demyx quickly piped up, "He didn't mean to hurt you! You probably scared him half to death!"

Axel got back up and shoved Demyx away from him before crossing his arms over his chest, and glaring at the blonde for a few moments. He simply growled before turning to the left, and stalking off towards his own home, taking a little alley between two clusters of houses.

Demyx could only stare in shock at the spot Axel had just been standing, his arms dangling limply at his sides like noodles. He heard footsteps coming up behind him at a quick pace, and his older sister calling out to him. Axel was beyond angry at him, and Zexion had run off to who-knows-where.

* * *

><p>Zexion hugged his knees to his chest as he hid in the shade behind a dumpster at the backdoor of an old rundown Chinese buffet. His nose had finally stopped bleeding, but now it ached. He hoped he hadn't broken it! He stared down at his hands, caked with dried blood and dirt now. There was no way he could return to Demyx's house now. Not with the possibility of Axel being there! He felt a few salty tears sting at the back of his eyes, threatening to spill free. He sniffled a bit, trying to hold them back while his stomach quietly growled.<p>

The smell wafting from the back door of the old buffet seemed pretty inviting right about now… Would he risk going in?


End file.
